WPF 3D with Helix Toolkit

Helix Toolkit builds on the 3-D functionality in Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).  This toolkit provides a higher level API for working with 3D in WPF, via a collection of controls and helper classes.

Using the Package Manager Console To install HelixToolkit.Wpf, run the following command in the Package Manager Console.

PM> Install-Package HelixToolkit.Wpf

Using the Nuget UI

To find HelixToolkit in NuGet, follow these steps:
1. Open your project in Visual Studio.
2. Right click on the References folder and select “Manage Nuget Packages…” from the context menu.
3. In the “Manage Nuget Packages” dialog, select “Online” on the right.
4. In the search field, enter “HelixToolkit”.
5. Select the HelixToolkit.Wpf package and press the Install button.

Creating a 3D view

The HelixViewport3D is the object that will contain our 3D scene. This is a WPF control allowing for imperative or declarative coding. Lets create a HelixViewport3D object using C#.

private void Create3DViewPort() { var hVp3D = new HelixViewport3D(); }

Using XAML object creation would look like this.

<code>&lt;Window x:Class="GettingStartedDemo.MainWindow" 
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:h="http://helix-toolkit.org/wpf"
        Title="Getting Started Demo" Height="480" Width="640"&gt;

     &lt;h:HelixViewport3D &gt;
     &lt;/h:HelixViewport3D&gt;

 &lt;/Window&gt;
</code>

This gives us a 3D space in which to setup our scene and work with 3D objects.

Adding lights

Next we need to add lighting to the HelixViewport3D. Without lighting, objects in the view-port scene will not be visible.

In C#:

<code>private void Create3DViewPort()
{
    var hVp3D = new HelixViewport3D();
    var lights = new DefaultLights();
    hVp3D.Children.Add(lights);
} 
</code>

In XAML:

<code>&lt;h:HelixViewport3D &gt;
     &lt;h:DefaultLights/&gt;
 &lt;/h:HelixViewport3D&gt;
</code>

Adding 3D content

Now that we have light and a view-port we can add a 3D object. Helix Toolkit comes with several 3D objects such as a box, tube, helix, pipe, and of course a teapot. Let’s add the teapot to the view-port.

In C#:

<code> private void Create3DViewPort()
 {
     var hVp3D = new HelixViewport3D();
     var lights = new DefaultLights();
     var teaPot = new Teapot();
     hVp3D.Children.Add(lights);
     hVp3D.Children.Add(teaPot);
  } 
</code>

In XAML:

<code> &lt;h:HelixViewport3D &gt;
      &lt;h:DefaultLights/&gt;
      &lt;h:Teapot/&gt;
 &lt;/h:HelixViewport3D&gt;
</code>

Complete Getting Started Example Code

In C#:

<code>public partial class MainWindow
{
    public MainWindow()
    {
        this.InitializeComponent();
        Create3DViewPort();
    }

    private void Create3DViewPort()
    {
        var hVp3D = new HelixViewport3D();
        var lights = new DefaultLights();
        var teaPot = new Teapot();
        hVp3D.Children.Add(lights);
        hVp3D.Children.Add(teaPot);
        this.AddChild(hVp3D);
    }
}
</code>

In XAML:

<code>&lt;Window x:Class="GettingStartedDemo.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:h="http://helix-toolkit.org/wpf"
        Title="Getting Started Demo" Height="480" Width="640"&gt;

    &lt;h:HelixViewport3D &gt;
        &lt;h:DefaultLights/&gt;
        &lt;h:Teapot/&gt;
    &lt;/h:HelixViewport3D&gt;</code>